Thinking about selfpublishing and debating whether to crowdfund? These slides give tips on what you should do online and offline in preparation for your crowdfunding campaign, during it and when it is completed. Crowdfunding is harder than it looks - but is achievable.

1. How to Crowdfund
for a
Self Published Book
Lorna Sixsmith

2. Why Crowdfund?
• Market Testing
• To raise funds
• To get pre-orders in
• Instead of raising a loan with the bank
• To increase awareness of product
• To make your dream come alive

3. Who will pledge?
• Family
• Friends
• Fans of the Project
• Readers of that genre
• Philanthropists
• Early adopters
• Emotionally engaged in project
• People who know you online and trust you to
deliver

4. Pre-Campaign – Growing Online
Communities
• Blog – grow your readership by including
extracts of your book and engaging with
readers.
• Twitter – follow key influencers. Engage with
other tweeps and have conversations.
• Facebook – Set up a facebook page, invite
friends to like it and grow your audience
• LinkedIn – Connect with other writers and
business people. Join relevant groups.

5. Pre-Campaign – Offline Preparation
• Decide on which crowdfunding site
• Tell friends this is going to happen
• Write various lists of people to contact
• Draft your press releases
• Create your video for the campaign
• Identify short extracts to share
• Have a bank of photos / illustrations
• Decide on rewards – look at other campaigns

6. During Campaign
• Email Friends, Family & Connections
• Send Press Releases to Offline and Online
Media
• Send an update on average once a week (on
crowdfunding website)
• Tweet Lots – Be Digital
• Consider having surprises / extra rewards up
your sleeve

7. What You Need For Success
• An engaged following
• Lots of time
• A good project
• Plenty of energy
• Good online presence
• A smartphone – you’ll be tweeting lots
• Credibility
• A couple of helpers (if only to test ideas with)

8. When It Is Over
• If successful – thank your pledgers
• Keep in touch with pledgers – update them
• Honour your rewards
• If unsuccessful – your project may just need
tweaking, more preparation, different timing,
more community building – think of a Plan B

9. ‘Would You Marry A Farmer?’
My crowdfunding for
‘Would You Marry A
Farmers’ ends on 31st
July. Please pledge and
pre-order my book for a
good laugh as well as a
social history on
Farming.
Read more on
Irishfarmerette.com